Wait, Wasn't Ayn Rand Opposed to Government Regulation?
It's not much of a shocker to learn that New York Gov. David Paterson went before Congress this week in search of some bailout money for the state. It is, however, a surprise to see him enlisting Ayn Rand in the cause of government intervention:
The great novelist Ayn Rand advised us in the Fountainhead that our country, the greatest country in the world, was founded on the basis of individuals, where people were encouraged to adventure, not to be complacent; to be daring, not dormant; to prosper, not to plunder. But, unfortunately, an infection of greed and mismanagement combined with a lack of transparency and government regulation have brought us to the point where our nation faces a downturn in its economy only rivaled by the Great Depression.
Maybe that's what Alan Greenspan meant.